Citation Nr: 9923089
Decision Date: 08/16/99 Archive Date: 08/26/99
DOCKET NO. 97-00 064A ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Los
Angeles, California
THE ISSUES
1. Entitlement to service connection for a heart disability,
including a heart murmur and atrial fibrillation.
2. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of
the United States
INTRODUCTION
The veteran served on active duty from January 1946 to
January 1949 and from March 1950 to July 1967.
This matter is currently before the Board of Veterans'
Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 1996 rating decision of
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
At that time, the RO denied the claim for a compensable
evaluation for the veteran's service connected bilateral
hearing loss. However, in a December 1997 rating decision, a
10 percent evaluation was awarded. In his substantive
appeals of January 1997 and March 1999, the veteran did not
refer to this issue. Accordingly, the issue of entitlement
to an increased evaluation for the service connected hearing
loss is not before the Board at this time. 38 U.S.C.A.
§ 7105(a) (West 1991).
REMAND
In July 1999, the veteran requested a hearing before a Member
of the Board at the RO. Accordingly, in order to ensure full
compliance with due process requirements, the case is
REMANDED to the RO for the following development:
The RO should schedule the veteran for a
hearing before a before a Member of the
Board in Los Angles, California, in the
order that this request was received.
The veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and
argument on the matter or matters the Board has remanded to
the regional office. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369
(1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or
other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious
manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994),
38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West Supp. 1999) (Historical and
Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure
Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide
expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by
the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-
8.45 and 38.02-38.03.
John J. Crowley
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 1999), only a
decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to
the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This
remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not
constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your
appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (1998).